THE HIGHLAND Violin

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The Highlands (10,000 sq. miles) is the largest region in Northern Scotland. In the early 1700’s the fiddle (violin) was first brought to Shetland by traders, and it soon found its way to the mainland and became the mainstay of Scottish music. By the mid-18th century violins were being made all over Scotland. Every major town in Scotland had a violin maker and their quality rivaled that of the English makers. The Highlands beautiful but rugged area promoted isolation and independence, especially in the rough winters. In the 18th and 19th century Scottish Highlands everyone played fiddle and read their Bible. Our Strad model violin is not so rugged but has those gutsy and ringing qualities. The body of this instrument is made for us at the Zhu workshop in the Guangzhou Province of China. We then cut all of the fittings in ebony, spruce, and maple and set the instrument up to our specifications. What turns out is a classic sound perfect for some fiddling, and they do very well for a bit more tamed player in the classical realm.

Corpus 355.0 mm., Major Width 206.0 mm., Minor Width 167.0 mm., Rib Height 30.0 mm tapering to 29.0 mm.@ the neck

The sound is impressive. The overall tone leans to the brighter side with ample amounts of power. This masculine and rugged sound is wonderful and fun to play. The instrument is lively and resonates with ease. The G & D strings have some guts, and the top treble strings have a more brilliant sound. The instrument is a delight to play, especially if you’re looking for another violin to test out another genre of string playing.